Executive Summary

EU-27+UK milk production figures provided by Eurostat and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board of the United Kingdom were recently updated with values spanning through May ’21. Highlights from the updated report include:

• EU-27+UK milk production volumes increased 2.2% on a YOY basis throughout May ’21, reaching a record high monthly level. The YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the largest experienced throughout the past three years.
• May ’21 YOY increases in milk production were led by Italy, followed by Ireland and France, while production volumes declined most significantly from the previous year throughout Finland. Overall, 22 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in milk production throughout the month.
• EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter rates finished higher on a YOY basis for the second consecutive month during Apr ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, increasing by 6.7% but remaining at the second lowest seasonal level experienced throughout the past ten years.

Additional Report Details

According to Eurostat and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board of the United Kingdom, May ’21 EU-27+UK milk production volumes increased seasonally to a record high monthly level, finishing 2.2.% above previous year levels. EU-27+UK milk production volumes reached a record high seasonal level for the tenth time in the past 12 months throughout May ’21.

Figures for Sweden and Luxembourg are not yet available and are based on the previous month YOY change in production. Sweden and Luxembourg have combined to account for just 2.0% of total EU-27+UK production volumes throughout the past 12 months.

’20-’21 annual EU-27+UK milk production volumes finished 0.6% higher on a YOY basis, reaching a record high level for the fourth consecutive year. ’21-’22 YTD EU-27+UK milk production volumes have increased by an additional 1.6% throughout the first two months of the production season.

The May ’21 YOY increase in EU-27+UK milk production volumes was the third experienced in a row and the largest experienced throughout the past three years on a percentage basis. EU-27+UK milk production volumes have finished higher on a YOY basis over 25 of the past 28 months through May ’21.

May ’21 YOY increases in production on an absolute basis were led by Italy, followed by Ireland and France, while YOY declines in production on an absolute basis were led by Finland.

YOY increases in production on a percentage basis were led by Cyprus (+14.9%), followed by Italy (+10.6%) and Hungary (+8.8%), while declines in production on a percentage basis were led by Finland (-3.6%), followed by Malta (-2.9%) and the Czech Republic (-2.1%).

Nine of the top ten milk producing member states experienced YOY increases in milk production during May ’21, as production within the top ten milk producing member states increased by a weighted average of 2.4% throughout the month. The top ten EU-27+UK milk producing member states accounted for over 85% of the total EU-27+UK milk production experienced throughout the month. Production outside of the top ten milk producing member states increased by 1.4% on a YOY basis. Overall, 22 of the 28 countries experienced YOY increases in production volumes during May ’21.

EU-27+UK beef & dairy cow slaughter finished higher on a YOY basis for the second consecutive month during Apr ’21 when normalizing for slaughter days, increasing by 6.7% but remaining at the second lowest seasonal level experienced throughout the past ten years. YOY increases in beef & dairy cow slaughter were most significant throughout Poland, followed by Spain and Italy.

’20-’21 annual EU-27+UK bovine slaughter declined on a YOY basis for the second consecutive year, finishing down 3.3% and reaching a seven year low level. The USDA estimates that the EU-27+UK dairy cow herd declined 1.2% throughout the 2020 calendar year due to feed shortages stemming from recent droughts but noted additional culling rates, coupled with improved genetics, are expected to have a positive impact on future per cow productivity as lower producing animals are culled. The USDA is projecting an additional 0.3% YOY decline in the EU-27+UK dairy cow herd throughout 2021, following the general trend toward smaller herds and more productive animals.